Rocket Scientist

So, I’m back. Most of you probably didn’t even notice I was gone, but I was. Went to visit beloved relatives elsewhere in Texas, one of whom takes fantastic pictures. Don’t believe me? Check this gorgeous girl (my daughter, Roxanna) - you’ll need to click to get the full effect of this:

Beautiful, eh?

For those who almost (but not quite) missed me, I’ll be out of pocket next week, too. I will try to keep things updated; in theory, the hotel has internet connectivity, but I’ve been caught before. No promises. I’ll be in Rome, you see, presenting a paper at the International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety. Before you go “Wow! How exciting!” let me tell you it’s all about the limitations on models and analyses used for risk assessment… Bet that put half of you asleep and I didn’t even describe it.

Last year, I presented three papers there. One on tin whiskers, which I’ve described here before, one on the advantages of using SI units and another one on micrometeoroids and orbital debris. This year, I only sent in one abstract since I didn’t want to present so many this year.

I think I’ll talk about the other two paper subjects, like I did with tin whiskers, but not today. Today, I want to talk about an article I read on space.com on spinoffs. I know that NASA spinoffs have been mentioned here and there before, but I think it never hurts to remind people just what the investment in Space has bought them. Some of the spinoffs are minor, like swimsuits with lower friction. Others are critical like materials used on wires for syncronizing heartbeats. Spinoff Magazine can be ordered for free or you can check it out online. There’s the list of Spinoffs issues there or you can check out the searchable database. Want some ideas of things to check? How about…

• Fabrics that protect firefighters
• Algae developed for astronaut health now found in baby formulas everywhere
• Portable nanomesh creates safer drinking water
• Robotic surgery
• Emergency response breathing apparatus
• Cleaner landfills

And the list goes on… Check it out.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS